A consensus has been reached by pro--Charter Change (Cha-cha) solons in the House of Representatives to boost the inflow of foreign direct investments (FDIs) to the country, which can be achieved by lifting the supposed overly-protective economic provisions of the 1987 Constitution.
Thus, said House Speaker Martin Romualdez Wednesday, Feb. 8 in a speech during the celebration of Constitution Day in Malacañang, with President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. as guest of honor.
Romualdez, who is Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) president, said the congressional deliberations on the proposed Constitutional amendments are more focused now on the need to encourage investments that would further stimulate economic activities, create job opportunities, reduce poverty and lower prices of goods and services.
"The proponents of the lifting of the economic provisions in the Constitution agree on one thing, opening the economy wide for inflow of foreign capital is the key to address the aspirations and ideals of Filipinos in present times," said the House leader and Leyte 1st district congressman.
The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez has already conducted two public hearings on pending Cha-cha measures so far this year.
The need to open up the economic provisions of the 36-year-old Charter has been raised multiple times during the panel discussions.
"That is why, when the President (Marcos) in his travels as the number one salesman of the country, we are often asked that after you have made so much progress and gains in opening up the Philippine economy, the last missing piece of the puzzle remains, how about your restrictive Constitution?" shared Romualdez.
"That is why we in Congress are facing up to this question and to this issue that burns to our minds today and may actually open up the aspirations of the Filipino people for tomorrow," he said.
He highlighted the need for FDIs by citing data and the experiences of other countries, culled from the reports of the Congressional Policy and Budget Research Department.
Romualdez said that based on United Nations (UN) data, FDIs account for the largest source of external financing in developing countries, beating out remittances, private debt and portfolio equity, or official development assistance.
“Higher FDI inflows can ease capital constraints and contribute to output and employment growth. Given the appropriate host-country policies and a basic level of development, a preponderance of studies shows that FDI triggers technology spillovers, assists human capital formation, contributes to international trade integration, helps create a more competitive business environment and enhances enterprise development,” he said.
“All of these contribute to higher economic growth, which is the most potent tool for alleviating poverty in developing countries,” Romualdez said.
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The Speaker lamented that the Philippines has not been receiving as much FDIs compared to its neighbor-countries.
Rodriguez said that in 2020, the Philippines ranked third-most restrictive out of the 84 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) foreign direct investment regulatory restrictiveness index (FDI Index).
“Barriers to in the Philippines comprise of four main types of restrictions: 1) foreign equity limitations; 2) discriminatory screening or approval mechanisms; ) restrictions on the employment of foreigners as key personnel; and 4) other operational restrictions, e.g., restrictions on branching and capital repatriation or land ownership by foreign-owned enterprises,” he said.